Palestine Legal and NYCLU Sue Columbia University Over Student Group Suspension

Palestine Legal and NYCLU Sue Columbia University Over Student Group Suspension

The New York Civil Liberties Union and Palestine Legal filed a lawsuit today against Columbia University for the unlawful suspension of its chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) for engaging in peaceful protest. 

Read More

Anti-Palestinian Animus at Root of U.S. Anti-Terrorism Laws, New Report Reveals

Anti-Palestinian Animus at Root of U.S. Anti-Terrorism Laws, New Report Reveals

Opposition to Palestinian rights has shaped U.S. federal anti-terrorism law from its beginnings, according to a briefing paper released today. Dating back to the 1960s, the government has used anti-terrorism law to target the Palestinian movement and supporters and to stigmatize Palestinians as terrorists, the paper says. 

Read More

Pro-Palestine Student Group in Florida Sues University System to Prevent Unconstitutional Deactivation

Pro-Palestine Student Group in Florida Sues University System to Prevent Unconstitutional Deactivation

The University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (UF SJP) filed a lawsuit today challenging the Chancellor of the State University System of Florida’s order to state universities to deactivate the student group. Contrary to recent media reports, the deactivation order remains in place today.

Read More

Hundreds of Legal Community Members Demand Action To Stop Racist and Unlawful Targeting of Palestine Advocates

Hundreds of Legal Community Members Demand Action To Stop Racist and Unlawful Targeting of Palestine Advocates

Palestine Legal and over 600 legal organizations and professionals, including the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, released a new letter urging elected officials and institutional leaders to take urgent measures to address the surging racist attacks and unlawful retaliation against advocates for Palestinian rights. 

Read More

Palestine Legal to UPenn: Palestine Writes Literature Festival must be allowed to proceed without racist censorship

Palestine Legal to UPenn: Palestine Writes Literature Festival must be allowed to proceed without racist censorship

On Friday, Palestine Legal wrote the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) urging the university to stand up for freedom of expression and permit the Palestine Writes Literature Festival to go forward, despite calls from Israel lobby groups to cancel the festival. Palestine Legal’s letter notes that the university would be in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 should it take action against the festival, which features dozens of Palestinian writers and other luminaries from across the world, including Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen, National Book Foundation ‘5 under 35’ awardee Isabella Hammad, Peabody awardee Laila Al-Arian, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd and Marc Lamont Hill, named by Ebony as one of the 100 most influential Black leaders in the country.

Read More

Palestine Legal Files Title VI Complaint Against University of Illinois Chicago for Discriminating Against Palestinian Students at Israel Study Abroad Event

Palestine Legal Files Title VI Complaint Against University of Illinois Chicago for Discriminating Against Palestinian Students at Israel Study Abroad Event

Palestine Legal filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), demanding an investigation into the University of Illinois Chicago’s (UIC) discriminatory treatment of Palestinian students, including barring Palestinian students from attending a January 2023 informational session on a university sponsored Israel study abroad program and threatening legal action against them for speaking about their experiences of discrimination. 

Read More

Dept. of Education Opens Investigation into Anti-Palestinian Discrimination at Florida State University

Dept. of Education Opens Investigation into Anti-Palestinian Discrimination at Florida State University

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has opened a formal investigation into a complaint alleging Florida State University discriminated against Palestinian student Ahmad Daraldik. After Ahmad was elected FSU student senate president in June 2020 and spoke openly about his experiences as a Palestinian, he was made an open target of a state-wide harassment campaign that included Florida state legislators calling for his removal and threatening to withhold funds to FSU.

Read More